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TV Tonight: ‘CMA Music Festival,’ ‘Tyrant’

By Mike Hughes
12:09 a.m. EDT August 5, 2014

Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert speaks onstage during the 47th annual CMA awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 6, 2013 in Nashville, United States. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
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This is billed as “Country’s Night to Rock” – a title it sometimes takes too literally. Nashville’s sensitive side is set aside for a cascade of high-octane, macho music.

The show is assembled from four concert nights. This year, those included a few women – Miranda Lambert, Sara Evans and members of Little Big Town (which hosts), Lady Antebellum and the Band Perry – and lots of guys. The line-up had Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Hunter Hayes, Eric Church, Darius Rucker, Chris Young, Brantley Gilbert, Charlie Daniels and more.

TONIGHT’S MUST-SEE II: “Tyrant,” 10 p.m., FX.

Last week’s powerhouse episode offered two jolts. Bassam convinced his brother Jamal to risk his dictatorship in an election. When an ailing sheik led in polls, Jamal quietly killed him in the rest room.

Or did he? After the show’s first episode, we assumed Jamal was dead; “Tyrant” is all about surprises. Tonight’s episode – another great one – shows how fragile and dangerous Jamal is; it also pushes Bassam – previously a quiet Pasadena pediatrician named Barry – to the extremes of ethical dilemma.

TONIGHT’S ALTERNATIVE: “Mark Twain” conclusion, 8-10 p.m., PBS.

This second half of a rerun starts in 1885, the year Twain wrote “Huckleberry Finn.” He had one more classic (“A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”), along with financial disaster (bad investments) and depression after his daughter’s death. But his speeches and essays were beloved.

It’s a richly human portrait, beautifully crafted by Ken Burns. And it helps viewers get in the mood for “The Roosevelts,” Burns’ brilliant, 14-hour film that will debut Sept. 14-20.